Gaze Quote by Rick Riordan
““We’re not the Furies,” I said. “We just want to talk.” “Go away!” he shrieked. “Flowers won’t make it better. It’s too late to apologize!” “Look,” Thalia said, “we just want—” “La-la-la!” he yelled. “I’m not listening!” We played tag with him around the boulder until finally Thalia, who was the quickest, caught the old man by his hair. “Stop it!” he wailed. “I have rocks to move. Rocks to move!” “I’ll move your rock!”Thalia offered. “Just shut up and talk to my friends.” Sisyphus stopped fighting. “You’ll—you’ll move my rock?” “It’s better than looking at you.” Thalia glanced at me. “Be quick about it.” Then she shoved Sisyphus toward us. She put her shoulder against the rock and started pushing it very slowly uphill. Sisyphus scowled at me distrustfully. He pinched my nose. “Ow!” I said. “So you’re really not a Fury,” he said in amazement. “What’s the flower for?” “We’re looking for someone,” I said. “The flower is helping us find him.” “Persephone!” He spit in the dust. “That’s one of her tracking devices, isn’t it?” He leaned forward, and I caught an unpleasant whiff of old-guy-who’s-been-rolling-a-rock-foreternity. “I fooled her once, you know. I fooled them all.” I looked at Nico. “Translation?””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Lost Hero, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, 2005
A dialogue shows a mythic character demanding communication over conflict, revealing that even ancient burdens can be eased through cooperation and empathy.
In simple terms: Talking can resolve conflict; cooperation eases burdens.
Listen and help each other.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- search for a person
- moving a rock
- dialogue with a deity
- teamwork in myth
- overcoming hostility
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we apply mythic lessons to modern teamwork?
- What does “rock” symbolize in personal struggles?
The scene mixes humor with serious mythic stakes, which may dilute the deeper lesson for some readers.